Kevin Maddenhttp://www.adweek.com/taxonomy/term/14634/all
enCNN Wants Newt for Crossfire Refreshhttp://www.adweek.com/news/television/cnn-wants-newt-crossfire-refresh-148866
Maura McGowan<p>
CNN has begun casting its net for pundits to appear in the revival of its debate show Crossfire. According to <a href="http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2013/04/cnn-in-talks-with-newt-gingrich-stephanie-cutter-for-162439.html" target="_blank">Politico</a>, the news network has approached former Speaker of the House and Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and President Obama&rsquo;s former deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter.</p>
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Gingrich hasn&rsquo;t held down a regular TV gig since 2011, when Fox News Channel voided his $1 million contract after he announced his plans to run for president.&nbsp;</p>
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CNN Worldwide president Jeff Zucker is said to be&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/newt-gingrich-stephanie-cutter-romney-444827" target="_blank">looking for a mix</a> of seasoned experts and younger voices for the show, which is likely to feature a rotating panel of guests a la <a href="http://www.hbo.com/real-time-with-bill-maher/" target="_blank">Real Time with Bill Maher</a> (HBO) and FNC&rsquo;s The Five. Former Mitt Romney advisor Kevin Madden is also said to be in the running for a seat on the Crossfire panel.&nbsp;</p>
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Crossfire premiered on CNN in 1982. After two decades of hosting America&rsquo;s most fractious shouting heads, Crossfire was canceled in January 2005. Then-president Jon Klein pulled the plug on the show (and cut ties with contributor <a href="http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/and-take-your-bow-tie-you-21150" target="_blank">Tucker Carlson</a>) after coming to the conclusion that viewers looked to CNN for information, not partisan squawking.</p>
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Klein&rsquo;s epiphany came on the heels of an October 2004 appearance by The Daily Show&rsquo;s Jon Stewart, who excoriated&nbsp;co-hosts Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala in a segment that went viral. After telling the two pundits that Crossfire was&nbsp;&ldquo;hurting America,&rdquo; Stewart went on to inform them that they were&nbsp;&ldquo;partisan hacks.&rdquo;</p>
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(Stewart&rsquo;s best zinger came when Carlson attempted to derail his mockery by criticizing The Daily Show&rsquo;s recent interview with Sen. John Kerry.&nbsp;&ldquo;You&rsquo;re on CNN! The show that leads into me is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKeqYBHCoak" target="_blank">puppets making crank phone calls</a>!&rdquo; Stewart cracked.)</p>
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A year after Klein yanked the show, CNN saw its adults 25-54 deliveries soar 31 percent. That said, the network remained leagues behind FNC, averaging 152,000 members of the demo to its rival&rsquo;s 310,000. Things haven&rsquo;t improved in the last seven years; in fact, CNN is now the No. 3 cable news network, trailing FNC and MSNBC.&nbsp;</p>
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The ongoing ratings slide at CNN has taken a bite out of the network&rsquo;s wallet. Per SNL Kagan data, FNC in 2012 more than doubled CNN&rsquo;s ad haul, raking in $713 million in sales revenue to CNN&rsquo;s $322.5 million.</p>
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In his ongoing effort to revive the network, Zucker experimented with another political panel show in March. (Get to) The Point, hosted by Donny Deutsch, averaged a mere 267,000 viewers in the 10 p.m. slot and was pulled after its inaugural week. Stewart merrily&nbsp;<a href="http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-april-4-2013/the-lost-channel-of-atlanta" target="_blank">tore apart</a> the doomed show, suggesting that Why is This Even on Television? would be a far more apt title.</p>
Television(Get to) The PointCableCable News RatingsCnnComedy CentralMaura McGowanCrossfireDonny DeutschFox News ChannelJeff ZuckerJon KleinJon StewartKevin MaddenmsnbcNewsNewt GingrichPaul BegalaRatingsStephanie CutterThe Daily ShowTucker CarlsonWed, 24 Apr 2013 17:42:58 +0000148866 at http://www.adweek.com